How to drive down ingredient costs?

[HellBentBrewCo]

So I want to brew more but I've been figuring out my costs per 10 gallon batch and it's a lot more than I though. Something in the neighborhood of 50-$80 once i factor in grain, yeast hops, finings etc. The cost of my ingredients includes shipping since I get most of my stuff from northernbrewer. I buy grain by the bag, hops by the pound and I harvest my yeast. Is there anything else I can do to bring costs down? I'm in Wilmington Delaware and don't know of any group buys nearby or I would get a bunch of bags of grain. Grain usually ends up costing 1.50-2.15 per lb, hops around $2 an ounce and I use $6 for the cost of yeast in a batch... what am I doing wrong and how do I get cheaper ingredients?

 

[acuenca]

Wash your yeast, order your grain in bulk, grow your own hops if you can...Also do you not have a LHBS close by? They may charge similar prices for grains but no shipping...

 

[teal]

I'm no expert but FWIW -

1. Might want to think about yeast ranching. Yes there's a cost to get set up like anything else but I don't think any of us really factor in cost of equipment when we factor our "cost per 6 pack". You'd be able to take 1 6 dollar yeast pack and make a bunch of slants from it and get several brews from it.

2. Can you get in with some other brewers to buy your grains in larger batches? Finding good deals on bulk grain+shipping and then splitting the tab might provide some economy of scale.

3. Parti gyle brewing might provide a way to extend your grain dollar and provide more beer. Probably take some work to find what you like heavy and light.

All I got....

 

[ajf]

I buy my grain from the LHBS (in bulk) at ~ $1.00 per lb. I buy hops in bulk from Freshops or Hops Direct. If you harvest your yeast, that shouldn't cost $6.00 per batch.
The only times I would consider mail order is when I need something that cannot be bought locally (like iodophor), or if the LHBS charges exorbitant prices, and the price difference justifies the shipping costs.
Then you could try some lower gravity brews which will reduce your grain costs, or less hoppy brews which would reduce your hop costs.

-a.

 

[BeerMe21]

I guess I am lucky to have a large homebrewing community here in CA, I picked up a 50lb of domestic 2-row for $38 (76c/lb) and I bought my hops in bulk from hopsdirect.com, averaged about 86c/oz. You can re-use yeast several different ways, if you do it right you can get up to 16 batches of beer from a single pack (See fermentation and yeast sub-forum).

I am surprised that you are paying $2/oz for hops if you are buying by the pound, most online brewing stores I have shopped don't charge that much even if you buy per oz (morebeer, northernbrewer)

I guess a group buy would be your best bet for the grains if you don't have a decent lhbs

 

[passedpawn]

bulk: grain, hops. Reuse yeast. Brew electric. Voilà.

 

[sudsmcgee]

With our local group buys, I have been getting bulk grains from $30-$40 per 55 lb sack.

 

[bjohnson29]

Yep, buy in bulk...picked up 130 lbs today (4 dif malts) for $100

 

[robbiex0r]

$50-80 isn't really that bad for a 10 gallon batch, especially if you're doing higher gravity, hoppier beers. You're already down to about 50-80c a beer.

 

[Yooper]

Yep, buy in bulk (grain $.80 cents a pound, hops $10/pound), wash and reuse yeast, and use your own tap water if you can. Grow your own hops if you use alot of flavor/aroma addition hops.

Most of my beers vary in price from $15 for 5 gallons up to $30, depending on how many hops and specialty items I'm using. Most are right around $42 for 10 gallons!

 

[HellBentBrewCo]

I do most of all of these things already, the problem is shipping kills me. If I could get my grain costs down to 50-75 c a pound and my hop prices down I would be in business. Any idea what a production brewery pays for their ingredients? I've read they are making a barrel of beer for around $50 which is substantially less than what we are doing.

 

[DamageCT]

I've read they are making a barrel of beer for around $50 which is substantially less than what we are doing.

They have partnerships with all of those companies if they are not growing and havesting all of those grains and hops.

 

[Malticulous]

I have to have my malt shipped too. Morebeer has American Pale Ale malt 10lbs for 10.15. I can't get whole sacks cheaper.

I use adjuncts in many beers. I've been making a lot of lagers recently (CAPs and Euro lagers.) Locally I get rice for 40¢, cornmeal for 50¢ per pound. I also toast raw wheat and use it as a specialty grain similar to victory. It aids in head retention too. I need to try making a brown malt sub with it. Is was 60¢ per pound. It adds up.

I reuse yeast. I normally get six or more batches from one starter. I don't rinse it. I don't like to store it for more than a few days. I just do a string of beers with the same strain racking and pitching the same day if possible.

 

[Bithead]

There's a MD/VA group and a South Jersey group that do bulk buys. You're stuck in between.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f174/

 

[kosmokramer]

I guess I am lucky to have a large homebrewing community here in CA, I picked up a 50lb of domestic 2-row for $38 (76c/lb) and I bought my hops in bulk from hopsdirect.com, averaged about 86c/oz. You can re-use yeast several different ways, if you do it right you can get up to 16 batches of beer from a single pack (See fermentation and yeast sub-forum).

I am surprised that you are paying $2/oz for hops if you are buying by the pound, most online brewing stores I have shopped don't charge that much even if you buy per oz (morebeer, northernbrewer)

I guess a group buy would be your best bet for the grains if you don't have a decent lhbs

where do you get your grain for that price, im not to far from costa mesa

 

[BeerMe21]

where do you get your grain for that price, im not to far from costa mesa

http://homebrewprovisions.com/default.aspx They are in fullerton. but if you are in upland you might be closer to morebeer

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

If you are ordering online/mail order then you should be ordering enough for several batches from somewhere that does flat shipping. That's going to cut down on shipping costs significantly.

I'd also look at what kind of beers you're making. Are you only making hoppy beers? High ABV? Lots of specialty grains? All those things drive up the costs of your brewing. While you should brew what you like -- otherwise, why bother? -- maybe you could find a few low ABV or simpler recipes that you like that you could brew to drive down overall costs.

 

[passedpawn]

My LHBS gives a 10% discount if you are a member of a homebrew group or an AHA member. That gets me a 50# sack for under $40. You (OP) might consider asking about these kinds of discounts from your local place.

 

[firebird400]

I use cornmeal instead of flaked corn and rice flour instead of flaked rice, much cheaper and you only need to boil it before using, easy.

I have also used polenta instead of flaked corn and it works fine, but needs a bit more cooking